Musk ox safari on Dovrefjell

Watching the musk ox from close range can make any and all both fascinated and humble.

The guide has taken you to a perfect height, you squat and whisper. Your automatically sharpened vision bears witness of what is about to come.

The moment of moments

A herd of 11-12 animals stands together eating, just 200 meters below your group`s location. The atmosphere is almost solemn, and clicking cameras are trying to perpetuate the moment. A binocular gives you a “close meeting” with the powerful animals before you pass it on with a large smile.

Good preparation

A journey to the kingdom of the musk ox takes about 5 hours, but before that good preparations are to be done. The starting point is often Kongsvold Mountain Lodge, where you get information about Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park and the musk ox. The animals can weigh up to 400 kilos and run 60 km/h, so information about how to behave near the animals is important.

Stable population

Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park is the only place in Norway, and one of the few places in the world, where you can see the impressive musk ox. There are in excess of 200 musk ox on Dovrefjell, and nearly 150 of them grazing west of Drivdalen and in the luxuriant hillsides down to the river Driva in Oppdal municipality. The musk ox population here is one of very few that is increasing.